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In reply to the discussion: Lance Armstrong and Consequences [View all]DanTex
(20,709 posts)16. So you really think that Livestrong has done more to help cancer victims than ACS?
Even if Livestrong actually was the do-gooding charity you think it is, this would be preposterous, given that ACS is something like 20 times bigger. But you might want to read up on Livestrong. A lot of what they do is marketing and "awareness" -- i.e. building up the Lance Armstrong brand.
But the foundations financial reports from 2009 and 2010 show that Livestrongs resources pay for a very large amount of marketing and PR. During those years, the foundation raised $84 million and spent just over $60 million. (The rest went into a reserve of cash and assets that now tops $100 million.)
A surprising $4.2 million of that went straight to advertising, including large expenditures for banner ads and optimal search-engine placement. Outsourcing is the order of the day: $14 million of total spending, or more than 20 percent, went to outside consultants and professionals. That figure includes $2 million for construction, but much of the money went to independent organizations that actually run Livestrong programs. For example, Livestrong paid $1 million to a Bostonbased public-health consulting firm to manage its campaigns in Mexico and South Africa against cancer stigmathe perception that cancer is contagious or invariably fatal.
Livestrong touts its stigma programs, but it spent more than triple that, $3.5 million in 2010 alone, for merchandise giveaways and order fulfillment. Curiously, on Livestrongs tax return most of those merchandise costs were categorized as program expenses. CFO Greg Lee says donating the wristbands counts as a program because it raises awareness.
This kind of spending dwarfs Livestrongs outlays for its direct services and patient-focused programs like Livestrong at the YMCA, an exercise routine tailored to cancer survivors available at YMCAs nationwide ($424,000 in 2010). Theres also a Livestrong at School program, offered in conjunction with Scholastic magazine ($630,000 in 2010). Explain to students that Lance was very sick with cancer but that he was treated and got better, begins one sample lesson plan for grades three through six.
...
A surprising $4.2 million of that went straight to advertising, including large expenditures for banner ads and optimal search-engine placement. Outsourcing is the order of the day: $14 million of total spending, or more than 20 percent, went to outside consultants and professionals. That figure includes $2 million for construction, but much of the money went to independent organizations that actually run Livestrong programs. For example, Livestrong paid $1 million to a Bostonbased public-health consulting firm to manage its campaigns in Mexico and South Africa against cancer stigmathe perception that cancer is contagious or invariably fatal.
Livestrong touts its stigma programs, but it spent more than triple that, $3.5 million in 2010 alone, for merchandise giveaways and order fulfillment. Curiously, on Livestrongs tax return most of those merchandise costs were categorized as program expenses. CFO Greg Lee says donating the wristbands counts as a program because it raises awareness.
This kind of spending dwarfs Livestrongs outlays for its direct services and patient-focused programs like Livestrong at the YMCA, an exercise routine tailored to cancer survivors available at YMCAs nationwide ($424,000 in 2010). Theres also a Livestrong at School program, offered in conjunction with Scholastic magazine ($630,000 in 2010). Explain to students that Lance was very sick with cancer but that he was treated and got better, begins one sample lesson plan for grades three through six.
...
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html
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So you really think that Livestrong has done more to help cancer victims than ACS?
DanTex
Jan 2013
#16
To me, at least, cheating is cheating. It doen't matter , if he won or not.
wake.up.america
Jan 2013
#28